About Me

CURRENT MISSION

Understand people better, be surprised, change my ideas, change the world, show surfers my "zero (almost) waste" way of living!

ABOUT ME

Hello all! I'm a single mom living with my baby boy. I still have room for a CS on the living room couch. some times in the year I have a whole room available for surfers. In all cases it goes with some rules...

I had the longest CS profile ever! Lol. Now I just deleted it because it was simply too informative.

As interactions really depend of who is coming to my house with what commun interests and what behaviour, I can't describe how I will be towards you ;-)

All I can say is I LOVE receiving people when they seam thankfull, respectfull of my demands and interested in sharing and helping out.

PS find my name in my profile... I always like to see that CS have read my profile when they send a request :-P

PHILOSOPHY

Why do it simple when it can be more complicated (more to discover, more surprising, unforgettable, more to learn, fun fun fun)??!

OK Well I just red this notorious quebecois guy opened letter in the news papers. He is talking about Quebec politics and politicians but he gives that exemple of an experience that was done on rats, years ago: 2 rats in the same cage- When they both receive an electric choc (a stress), they start fighting each other. The moment the stress stops, they become "civilized" again. If the rat is alone in the cage and gets the electrical choc on a regular basis, he has no one to fight against and will develop a cancer... Apply the same to humains: in the cities I love so much, people have a tendancy to get agresive because of high stress, high population, working fast, too many stimulations... OK but if you get to interest yourself in the OTHER, knowing the other, understanding all sorts of OTHERS, love their grey scales of qualities and defaults, their different values and ways of seeing life. I expect great things from the other and I crave for VERY FLUID COMMUNICATION with and from everyone but it is not ofthen the case so sometimes -many times- I am very disappointed by the OTHER but I think I dedicate my life to understand that other on witch I rely so much... in order to stop ever being disappointed anymore, one day and become wise...

Some one said (can't remember who) Happyness will not come when everything is perfect but when you will have accepted the imperfections of everything...
I say YES
but... you can try making it less imperfect...
and however, to relate it to CS, I'd say I host a lot BECAUSE I accept that things
could be imperfect and go wrong. I even learned a lot from imperfect experiences :-)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Afther a year without surfing or surfers, I intend to participate as much as possible but I have more and more expectations towards surfers. I am less eager to accept all and everyone. Not for lack of time. I can always make time for surfers. Not for needs of privacy. I do not need such thing. I have more rules to make it more fun for me. Yep: sometimes hosting was all work and no fun. So I still receive surfers cause I love conversations at almost all times! Loll. I am quebecoise but that is a very french touch I have: loving controversy, talkative suppers, asking you lots of questions, discovering your specific way of dealing with your life or your traveling philosophy... Everything is more fun with someone rather than alone. But especialy, I think it is amazing the random conversations you can have with a surfer, turning deep and changing something unexpected within you, in the end.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Just amazing! I have surfed first and however the dificulties, I'm now trying to host as much as possible to give back the generosity I received. Despite some less good experiences, I have had soooo many incredible host and surfers! I some times think I receive more from surfers than I give them... See my references/comments on people for more details about what we do when together, couch surfers and I...

Music, Movies, and Books

Pfff too many! On request..

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- diving for the first time in Grand Cenote, Tulum, Mexico...
- private picture safari in a biological animal center, Los Lianos, Venezuela
- go dancing in Igloo fest, Montreal, with a sufer protecting my 6 months prengnancy belly from the crazy crowd
- horse ridding the hills between San Cristobal and San Juan de Chamula, Mexico
- teck in the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona, USA
- dancing sevillana with knowing how to with local people, being the only foreigner of the first Spain feria de Abril in Matalascanas, Spain.
- horse ridding in Hyde Park, London, England
- canoing in the see with wild dolphins in Madeleine Islands, Canada
- listening to a drunk thaï guide signing the Beatles with his guitare, in front of an outdoor fire at night, in the mountains, near Chang Maï, Thaïland
- visit an orphenage in Luang Prabang, Laos and be given the opportunity to give a drawing and painting lesson, a sewing workshop and a shadow puppets workshop
- Assist a private real Azteca dance and try a HOT temazcal experience with a real hippy crowd and real chaman, the next day! Palenque, Mexico
- Try Absynthe (the green mythic alcool of the mytical poets of Paris) in Caveau de la Huchette during a small Jazz concert, Paris, France
-Getting married in Burkina Faso!
- Assisting an outdoor Opera reheursal in a super small and gorgeous village surronded by sunflower fields: San Geminiano, Italy
soooo much more...

Teach, Learn, Share

Because I will always have so much to LEARN:
- would love to learn a new laguage
- would love to learn to use a computer better and PHOTOSHOP!!
- would love to learn the History of your country
- would love to learn traditional waving and fabric dying
- would love to learn to knit

SHARE:
How funny that people ONLY have awsome things to share on CS... How not representative of the real experiences...

BURKINA: They are soo generous when they respect you! But get respected because some will always see you as a white wallet on two feet -if you are not an african who stayed in Africa- When you throw a party, you are expected to pay for every single detail, including transportation of your guests some times... and that is including an invitation to go drinking or dancing together. It is never one for himself. Always someone -the oldest or richer or host- will take care of all the group... Being alone, for an African, is way worst than it is for westerners in general. They will share a lot, talk a lot, dance and play music, listen to you but don't go too deep in the private and family privacy department because it is considered way more private than for us. Ofthen, they won't even want to think about it because problems at home are taboo. I found Love was a little taboo too...

THAILAND: They don't like toursts as much. They have too many and their tourists are too wild, loud, stupid, cuising their woman... But the interesting thing is they do not see that (nor prostitution) as much imoral as we see it in Western countries. For them, sex is an exercise and has little to do with love. Getting monney from it is a good thing! You become a super-heroin when you leave children and family to go working (...) in Pattaya, for exemple... Also, I learned they don't consider the link between mother and child as sacred as we do in America and Europe: If the soul of the child does not fit well the soul of the parents, they will give the child to someone else for a better fit...

MEXICO: hummm... I learned that mexican guies like white girls a lot! Lolll and they make you dance salsa like a queen what ever your (lack of) skills. They are (the men) a little macho too, obviously. But when mexicans have been too long in Montreal, they lose that facination on westerners (normal) and don't invite you to danse salsa anymore! Lolll. Interesting. People are very nice (love the culture) and interested in you when you make the effort of speaking their language. The country itself has everything to offer! Mountains, deserts, big urban cities, colonial charming villages, jungle, beaches, ruins, lots of museums, cenotes, wildlife, divine food, mezcal, ancestral knowledge, amazing art crafts etc. LOVE IT!

Much much more...

What I Can Share with Hosts

I offer a meal the first night or anyways: one supper on one of your evenings at my place, if you stay more than two days.

I could offer the first breakfast if you arrived late the previous night. But no more: you must take care of your own meals. I hate to make that precision. I have had a few bad experiences...

I can offer bedding (sheet, blanket, pillow) and a towel for the showers.

There is no TV here. I do not have a fix phone and I do not let Csurfers use my computer. Again... I have had bad experiences... I DO offer the code to the Internet acces.

I am likely to refuse to host you if you don't stay at least 5 days. Max is 8.
The reason is I doubt I will have the time to enjoy your stay if you come 2-3 days. You will have lots to do in little time so you may not want to spend one of your precious evenings talking to me and it is not guaranty I can go somewhere with you and bring my young son with us in evenings... even during the day, some places are simply no good for toodlers...
And if you stay less than 5 days how can I ask you to clean the house a little for me? YES I wrote "clean"! I do not want a gift. I do not want a bottle of wine. I want help cleaning a very generous house to surfers.
Just imagine a typical summer month:
you come 3 days
They come 4 days
he comes 4 days
she comes 2 days
they come 3 days
that is a lot to clean up and a lot of laudry and organisation and suppers. Don't get me wrong: It is a pleasure to exchange and help put a cheap roof on top of your lovely head and do all the above EXEPT the cleaning. It is NOT a pleasure to feel like a FREE Hotel... so I'll ask you clean up a little :-)
Participation is expected everywhere exept on rent, electricity bill and Internet acces. That all ready good, no?

I will help you very much with directions. I have a good sens of orientation and a passion to share ideas of what you could do in my city, draw maps, talk about the culture here, the expressions, what to pay attention to. I am very helpfull with any question you have (or I want to be helpful to be more precise) and you will be able to communicate with me anytime during the day (if I am at work or anywhere out of the house) by cellphone or facebook messages...